Game ball laced opening



May 10, 1932.

w. A. SONNETT GAME BALL LACED OPENING ATTORNEY.

Patented May 10, 1932 UNITED STATES ATENT. OFFICE WILLIAM A. SONNETT, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE P. GOLDSMITH SONS COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ,A CORPORATION OF OHIO I GAME BA I. LACED ornnme v Application filed August 30, 1929. Serial No. 389,561.

My invention relates to laced openings in the covers of inflatable game balls, such as basket balls, foot balls, volley balls, and the like.

In balls of this type, in which an inflatable bladder is retained within a leather cover, it has been customary in the past, to have a slit in the cover in which lacing openings are provided along the edges of the cover adjacent the split portion through which laces may be inserted to close the opening. Frequently, the life of the ball is determined by the resistance to tearing strain of the parts of the cover having the lacing openings. To overcome this, manufacturers have reinforced the cover by stitching extra strips of leather inside the ball, and the lacing openings. pass both through the cover and the reinforcing strips. This has caused a tendency of the ball to bulge out of round at the openingin the cover.

It is the object of my invention to provide an opening in the cover in which a thin strip of a very tough fibrous cotton material, having properties closely akin to those of leather, is used for reinforcing, and in which the openings for the lacing are further reinforced by eyelets secured through the fibrous reinforcing strip, and extending part way into the leather of the cover without being visible from the outside.

In lacing a ball the outer cover should be as free from obstructions as possible, so that the provision of the invisible eyelets reinforces the lacing openings without detracting from the appearance, or the desired contour of the ball.

Broadly, it is my object to provide an opening in the cover through which an inflatable bladder will be rendered accessible, in which the parts which are usually subject to the strain of lacing are suitably reinforced, and in which there is no likelihood of a bulge occurring.

The above objects and others to whichreference will be made in the ensuing disclosure, I accomplish by that certain combination and arrangement of parts of which I have shown a preferred modification.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure '1 represents a foot ball provided with a reinforced opening made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the outer side of the ball cover showing the bladder opened.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view gf 1tlhe cover viewed from the inner side of the Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 in Figure 3.

The ball illustrated, which is a foot ball, is composed of four segments of leather 1, stitched together by having meeting edges of the leather segment turned in as indicated at 2 inFigures 3 and 4, and stitched together with a strong twine. The opening through which the inflatable bladder is inserted into the ball, or through which the bladder will 70 be accessible, is indicated at 4. Cloth covered members 5, in the manufacture of the ball are stitched on the inner side. On both sides of the opening 4,strips 6 of a fibrous cotton composition which is very thin, are stitched as with the line of stitchings 7 A series of perforated holes 8 are punched in the cover members at the edges of the opening, and eyelets 9 are driven from the inner exposed surface of the reinforcing strips through the cotton cover and into the leather. The eyelets make the lacing of the ball a much simpler task, than if the perforations 8 were not reinforced.

I have found that a suitable product. for use as a reinforcing strip which is of suflicient thinness not to cause a bulge in the ball when it is inflated, and which will be sufficiently I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A cover for a game ball having a laced opening with perforations extending through 5 said cover for receiving the lacing, said cover comprising an outer cover composed of segments of leather, inner lining pieces of cloth and a reinforcing piece of thin flexible nonstretchable material, said cover segments, lin- 10 ing' pieces and reinforcing piece being stitched together and having the perforations therein in alignment, and eyelets extending from the inner surface of the reinforcing" piece through the perforations andrinto the inner'surface of the outer cover segments.

WILLIAM- A. 'SONNETT. 

